Above and Beyond
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: Exploration and the discovery of new Forerunner ruins and technologies was the Infinity's and Shadow of Intent's newest goal. On one such trip, hunting through uncharted Galactic space for a piece of technology hinted at by a Forerunner Archive, the Infinity and Shadow get mistakenly transported to a realm unknown to them. A universe similar, yet different to their own...
1. Giving a statement

Space... An infinite, unbound, starlit darkness. Many things could occur here. And many things historically did... The Forerunner technology was beyond any that humanity had seen. And as time passed, we grew more accustomed to recovering and adapting it to our own needs. There were several ships tasked with the discovery and quote-unquote 'reclamation' of these relics for the betterment of mankind. And with their Sangheilli allies, they scoured yet-untouched parts of the Galaxy to find these items.

The UNSC _Infinity _and the CAS Carrier _Shadow of Intent_ were two such Allied ships. Currently on a journey to the Far Rim of the Galaxy, the currently largest UNSC vessel in the Arsenal was finishing preparations for exit from Slipspace at their target area:An unexplored system discovered via Forerunner Charts. It was also an arranged Meeting Point with the ship.

On the bridge of the UNSC warship, Captain Thomas Lasky was seated in his chair, awaiting for them to wink back into real space after an 20-hour flight. He looked over to the Holo-table, to see the yellow avatar of a WW2 US Bomber Pilot, clad in the full attire, appear. Roland gave a nod to the Captain and said "Sir, we're approaching the Exit Point. And I think the Arbiter may want a word with you."

"Figured as much." Lasky hummed. "Just tell me when we're out and patch him through, Roland."

"Sir." The Bomber pilot nodded. "Exit Vector in 3... 2... 1..."

The _Infinity _decelerated as the inky blackness of space winked into existence. The ship's sensor crews began a scan of the system as the Com pinged. The Captain looked at the holographic screen ahead as an image formed into view. That of a hunchback alien creature clad in gold-tinted armor. Amber, snake-like eyes stared from behind the helmet on his head and his 4 mandibles moved. Thel 'Vadam, Arbiter and leader of the Swords of Sangheillios, spoke in greeting "Captain Lasky."

"Arbiter." He nodded respectfully "A pleasure to see you."

"It is good to see that Humanity's best Warship is in capable hands. Your former Captain didn't bode too well." The Arbiter somehow managed to both compliment him and insult Del Rio at the same time. The Elites had a feat of burning humans every once in a while. But it did make Lasky chuckle. He did appreciate the compliment, however, electing to ignore the jab at his former Superior.

"And are we glad to see the Swords of Sangheillios are growing in strength and with a good leader at the front." Lasky returned the compliment. He noticed Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum's armor flash on-screen momentarily, then saw the Elite Navy Commander approach the screen. He spoke to the Arbiter and Lasky "Captain, Arbiter. We have detected the artifact we're here for. It is within orbit third planet of this binary star system, at an approximate sixty thousand kilometers."

"Any Remnant on sensors?" Arbiter asked. The Covie Remnant did have a nasty habit of showing up after them...

"Thankfully, it seems we're the first people to reach this star system." Rtas answered, seemingly more concerned... The Artifact was pinged by the _Infinity's _sensors too. Next to what looked like a world that was saturated by Nuclear Hellfire, considering the amount of Rads pinging off of it. Pulling up a rough schematic of what it was, the Captain and Crew of the UNSC ship saw what the Elites were probably seeing too:A sort of small Dyson sphere similar to Forerunner Shield Worlds, but... Different. It had no top covers and it was formed of hexagonal struts of a metal that... Pinged and redirected Radiation back to the planet itself. In its center, what looked like a Black Hole, clearly not of natural formation, resided. And, unlike most Forerunner constructs, the Sensors didn't show any sort of defensive Drone complement.

"A Binary Star system... That's rarity and a half." Roland commented "Rads from the planet are off-charts, sir. I'm detecting structures down below. Unknown type or making. And I can't get a bead on them thanks to the planetwide Nuclear Winter." The AI then continued, bringing up a holographic view of the globe holding the strange Black Hole Containment Device in orbit. It was a black, charred surface with a Nitrogen-Oxygen atmosphere similar to Earth's, but so poisoned by the radiation that it... Didn't feel right... Lasky weighed his options...

"Roland, can you get me a bearing on how long the planet has been irradiated for?" The Captain asked.

"What is it you're considering, Captain?" The Arbiter looked with curiosity at his human counterpart.

"... I don't know if this is Forerunner tech, frankly, but, just in case, I wanna find out." The Captain noted, leaning forward and rubbing his chin...

"Sir. I can't get a full scan from here. We may need to get closer..." Roland sighed "I hate suggesting it sir, but y'know..." to which the Captain nodded. He looked to Helm and showed them to bring the ship forward... The Sangheilli followed them closely. Side-by-side, the ships advanced toward the Artifact. Roland looked over to the Captain and said "Contact Protocol engaged... Sent a high-powered signal to UNSC HighCom. If things take a turn for the worst, they can track us."

"The _Shadow of Intent's _communication suite has parsed and boosted the signal." The Arbiter said. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Arbiter..." Lasky hummed as they approached the flashing hexagonal ball of darkness "Don't _ever _say that... It brings bad luck." and he was, of course, referring to Murphy's Laws. As old and funny a concept as that was, it was applicable even 5 to 600 years into the future, since it was conceived. And it was always right. Never say things like 'it could always be worse' or anything about bad feelings... The Captain knew that fucked up things.

... "Stand by..." Roland said... Something was off...

The Captain saw the flash and spike of energy from the unnatural Black Hole container. "Roland?" The man said, a hint of concern in his voice...

"... I'm detecting increased Cherenkov Radiation. The station's powering up." Roland reported. "Planetary structures are dated at over 152 Millennia... And there's signs of remains... Captain, We need to back away, now." He said, concerned. The ships shuddered and the energy shields flashed as a wave of radiation parsed their outer layers. God damned... "Small EMP attempted to disable our power systems. And I think we've got problems, sir."

"Gravity field of the Black Hole is expanding, sir!" One of the Sensors officers said.

"Yeah... That." Roland sighed

"Full reverse thrust! See if we can't get out of the gravitational pull!" The Captain ordered as he felt the ship shudder once more... And power went out across the ship. Secondary generators kicked in, faint scarlet emergency lights occupying the place of the more powerful ones... Growling, Lasky barked out "Status!? What the hell happened!? Did we lose power!?"

"Sir, EMP from the Station just disabled us! It's trying to pull us in!" His Ensign reported, looking at him. Sweet mother of god...

"What about the _Shadow!?_" The Captain barked his last question...

"She's not far behind us! Being pulled in by the same force!" He responded. "I'd hang on to something, sir! WE'RE GOING IN!"

... As _Infinity's _reactor struggled to power back on, the engines flickering on and off, this situation seemed far too familiar to the Captain of the UNSC ship. The ship moved, with the Sangheilli Carrier trailing her, pulled toward the Black Hole by its incredible gravitational field. The planet below began to tear itself apart too... And Lasky could swear his eyes deceived him. A section of the skeletal structure containing the black hole opened. It was wide enough for both ships to fit through... Lasky closed his eyes, praying his people would be fine as the ship began its descent into the Event Horizon of the Black Hole...

**_... Meanwhile..._**

**_Orbit of the Neutral Rim planet, Cera._**

The white and scarlet-clad Frigates of the Ceran Space Force hanged in the cradles of their Drydocks. The small, nimble craft had a multitude of missile pods on the top, with the added Flak Batteries as support against enemy missiles. They were small, at only 400 meters in length, compared to the larger, more advanced counterparts of the Navy, but their size allowed them a nimbleness and ease of construction that the Ceran Navy, currently upgrading its newer designs, needed.

The Fifth Picket Fleet's Rear Admiral, Marcus Crescentia, sat aboard his command ship, the CSF _Infallible _and waited for news. Almost a month ago, PACT began hostilities with several Neutral Rim planets and so, they were put on alert... PACT was still a good few years away from being a major threat and said Neutral Planets seemed to be holding their own just fine for now... Marcus was still a bit iffy about the situation, but he elected to let the other members of Admiralty make the decisions relating to PACT.

The _Infallible _was a pocket battleship of the Hammer-class. An older design being refit for more modern times. She carried a Ryder complement of around 6, with most being Fighter-class Ryders meant for engaging enemy Bombers that got a little too close for comfort. She had a tall conning tower and crow's nest, with the bridge situated at the base of said conning tower, giving him full view of the Mark III Savior Cannon batteries situated at the front of the ship. It had two more in the back, over the sublight engine suite and also sported several dozen Point-Defense Flak Guns and even some of the new Mark 1 Pulse Turrets. She also had one old shield emitter and a ye olde Fusion reactor.

All of this armament and equipment was evenly distributed between the two prongs at the front of the ship and the rest of the hull. The prongs themselves were home to a Vanguard-class Prototype energy cannon's emitter array. Theoretically, it had a megaton yield of at least 2000, so it was more than capable of punching through any other ship, but it necessitated time to recharge and a lot of power...

As for the Admiral himself, he was an elder man, around his late 40s. He sported short-brown hair that was graying out at the tips and a pair of deep, scarlet eyes. He wore a black uniform of the Ceran Space Force, bearing Rear Admiral pins on his collar and his shoulders had golden frills and several more echelons that denoted the rank. He also wore a peaked cap with the Ceran Admiralty's symbol, that of the Black Hawk with its wings spread, on the forehead. On his chest resided a few medals and ribbons for his actions against pirates and other such... Troublemakers.

His weary eyes scanned the bridge of the Battleship from his position at the Holographic Map that displayed a three-dimensional view of Cera and surrounding space, alongside the IFFs of Ceran warships in orbit. At least 5 more Battleships of varying classes were in orbit with him, maintaining watch over the Frigate upgrade procedures. He stroked his chin, looking over to the front of the bridge, where the gunnery and sensor operators resided and saw a Ryder, the highly-advanced space fighter mech, fly by. It held in its two 'hands' a twin laser emitter and a Gatling Flak Gun, meant for anti-fighter work. Its back thrusters shined blue as it flew past the bridge and it had Cera's red and white colors...

Several dozen support ships also winked into view on the warship's port side. They were support carriers at around 2 kilometers in length and there was two of them. Only two of them. Though severely underequipped for ship-to-ship combat, holding only Pulse and Flak guns as point defense, they carried a decent squadron of 20 Ryders each, with half being bombers, while the other half was Fighters. Following them were several already-refit Frigates...

The Navy was at the ready, just in case... The Admiral had a feeling it was a good thing that they were...

Yellow alert sounded. And pings appeared on the ship's Radar suite. He looked at the holographic display as two unidentified warships emerged right at the edge of the Cerans' guns. The Rear Admiral squinted, then called via Com "Attention, all hands:We are entering Red Alert status. Man your battlestations, this is not a drill..." And he looked over to his Bridge Commanders and said "Prep weapons... Attempt to hail whoever it is and tell them to turn back."

"Sir." The crew said, turning to their jobs...

"Size of the enemy warships?" He asked, walking up to the front, to see winks of light far away. One of the Crew turned to him and said "5,7 Kilometers and 5,3 Kilometers, respectively. First sensor sweep shows they're disabled and running on emergency power, sir, but we're still attempting to establish contact..."

"Get a message through to Fleet Admiral Lye... Tell him I'm requesting permission to approach the ships with three Frigates as support..." The man said, somewhat astonished by the sheer sizes of their tresspassers' ships. He tried to maintain a stoic facade and allow his men to be calm. He looked to the Comm Officer, who gave a nod... Then looked back to him.

"Fleet Admiral Lye has granted permission, but requested we bug out if things get heated. On your order, sir." He said... The Rear Admiral gave a nod and said "All ahead, full."

The silent hum of the Warship's engines came to. As it lurched forward, moving at high-enough speed for the Frigates to keep up. At best speed, they'd arrive there within at least 15 minutes... He had ordered the men to keep an eye on the ships' status and if they'd power back on again. And as they'd arrive in the section of Ceran Space that they were in, Marcus went bug-eyed...

One of the ships had a hull design not to dissimilar to the Ceran Navy's. She was a black, blocky and functionally-designed ship, bearing heavy armor and what seemed to be the faint shimmers of an energy shield coming back to order. She mounted _heavy _armaments, from visible missile pods to artillery and Point-Defense guns resembling of Flak, as well as... Several massive exits for what felt like Kinetic weapons. Her lights winked off and on and she had white stripes and, written in bold white lettering on her side, next to the symbol of an eagle clutching a globe, were the Letters **_INFINITY._**

Following it, the next ship was a more sleek design... She looked like a whale, clearly alien in design, with a narrow neck and 'spine' at the top that linked the back section of the ship to the 'head'. She also had weapons, but clearly, most were hidden and more than likely more powerful... He looked to the Comm officer as the man gave a thumbs up and said "Their power's coming back online."

... If Lasky never felt his stomach turn inside out before, this little trip through a wormhole surely helped with that... Coughing, the man looked around and asked in a hoarse voice "Status!" before watching the lights on the ship wink back on. Communication was reestablished with a just-as-dazed Arbiter as the soldiers and crew rose from their falls and took to their stations again.

"Multiple non-fatal injuries on Decks 3 through 11 and the momentary loss of power caused a reset in all systems... I managed to bring myself, Life Support and Comms back online, Captain." Roland said, parsing through data... He looked to his left as a blue avatar took form and he smirked as he saw Cortana, in all her beauty, appear before them all on the bridge.

"Captain. Roland." Cortana gave them a nod "Talk about bumpy rides."

"You and the Chief sleep well?" Thomas quipped as he dusted himself off...

"No thanks to your driving..." A gruff, hard voice came over the sound of thundering boots as a seven-foot-tall soldier walked onto the deck. Finishing off, he said "Yes." before turning to Cortana and inquiring calmly "Did you tell them about the Radar contacts?" but holding his MA5 Rifle close. The Master Chief was already prepped and ready to go before even being asked.

"Not yet... Barely arrived on-deck, Chief." The female AI stated, cocking her head to look at the Captain and saying "We've got a few ships buzzing us. One of them's trying a hail both us and the _Shadow._" and she pulled up the screen. "Should I accept the call?" She asked with a smirk. It wouldn't be a problem if she did, so... Lasky gave her a nod. Time to hear what the new hosts had to say.

... "Link established, Admiral Crescentia, Sir!"

On the Holo-Screen of the Ceran Warship, two images appeared. One had a man with a similar haircut to his, but clad in a grey uniform with a reinforced shoulder pad on the left. His bridge resembled what you'd see on a human ship... Meanwhile, the second image held a hunchback alien in gold armor and with 4 mandibles. That was enough for the Admiral to drop his facade. He went bug-eyed, then muttered "An alien..." Under his breath. He cleared his throat and retook his stance and serious posture, then said "This is Rear Admiral Marcus Crescentia, of the Ceran Space Force's 5th Picket Fleet. To whom do I have the pleasure of talking?"

Lasky looked a bit surprised... There was no 'Cera' as far as Human colonies went. He knew that much since no major world with that name had been burned or attacked in the Outer Colonies sector... Sighing and choosing to play along for now, he returned "This is Captain Thomas Lasky, of the UNSC _Infinity. _With me is my associate from the Swords of Sangheillios. Arbiter Thel 'Vadam."

"Greetings." The Arbiter gave a nod... He spoke English...

Lasky continued "Admiral, I and my associate are here after an... Event... That had us flown through a Black Hole." And he realized just how dumb that sounded. Sighing, the man said "We mean no harm to you, your fleet or the people of Cera as a whole. We're lost and far away from any of our territories." as far as his Star Maps told him, anyways. There was something entirely different about the Milky Way's topography here. Some stars were misaligned...

"... Captain, as much as I'd like to believe that your people and you... _Whoever _you may be, discovered a way to travel, not to mention _safely _through a Black Hole's Event Horizon and come out the other side into our little corner of the galaxy, I'm not sure that's possible. Even _we _are struggling to regain that level of tech and we're one of the few more advanced Neutral Rim civilizations..." The Admiral explained, staying as calm as he was when he first saw them... Before he got spooked... He looked to the Alien, then said "And your... Alien ally, the Arbiter as you call him... He is clearly not from around here."

Lasky took a moment, then sighed "Fair point, Admiral. We didn't expect you to believe us from the start. May we ask that we, at least, send a delegation to meet with your people and you? Also... What do you mean Neutral Rim?" He raised a brow... This guy was joking, the Admiral thought. Surely he must've heard of the Neutral Rim... He thought for a moment...

"Captain Lasky, Arbiter... Do the names of PACT and the Solar Alliance... Or the Holy Ryuvian Empire... Tell you anything?" He asked, feeling a knot in his stomach...

The Sangheilli and his human counterpart glanced at each-other, then back to the Admiral and shook their heads... Damned it be. The Admiral sighed, then said "It's clear we have a lot to talk about then, Captain... May I suggest getting an unarmed ship and setting it up as a meeting point between you and the Admiralty? Fleet Admiral Lye, the Supreme Commander of the Ceran Navy, wants a word with both of you..." before tapping his com. Fleet Admiral Lye had already dispatched an Envoy Ship... It was only natural that Crescentia would tap him into the call... And from the look of disbelief on his face, Lye was as surprised as him when first seeing this 'Arbiter'.

"I presume this is Fleet Admiral Lye... Greetings, sir." Nodded Lasky. "I'm Captain Lasky of the UNSC _Infinity _and that is my associate, Arbiter Thel "Vadam of the Swords of Sangheillios. We've already spoken a bit with Rear Admiral Crescentia... And he suggested that we all meet on an unarmed vessel to discuss my and the Arbiter's ships' situations."

"So I understand..." Lye said... "A pleasure to make your acquaintances, Arbiter, Captain... We shall meet aboard the Ceran Envoy vessel _Terra Nova._ Rear Admiral. I would like for you to join us, if that is possible..." And he got a nod from Crescentia... A little political talk wouldn't hurt the man... Gods, he hoped Ava and Anne were well down below. Same for that Kayto boy...

_... Aboard the CSF _Terra Nova... The UNSC Captain had landed with a Pelican and several Marines into the Cargo Hold that was now a makeshift hangar. The emerald transport touched down gently onto the floor and the soldiers piled out, forming two lines beside him and the Master Chief. Following their landing, the sleek emerald and silver of a Sangheilli Dropship arrived. And exiting via its gravity lift, the Arbiter and a squad of Special Ops Elites joined them on the deck.

"Captain." The Arbiter gave a nod.

"Arbiter." Lasky returned.

"Spartan." The Alien then regarded his former comrade.

"Good to see you, Arbiter." Chief nodded. They heard a door open and all turned to see the sight of two men clad in Admiralty uniforms approaching them. Following were troops wearing black uniforms and holding black, rounded rifles that seemed to emit energy out of their barrels. Looked as though all sides came with some sort of leverage. And if anything, those weapons they carried were laser or projectile-based...

"Admirals." Lasky saluted the men. They saluted back, then looked between the Arbiter and tall, lean man encased in a titanium armor set. It was awe-inspiring, really. The Alien and Soldier nodded to them and the tall bastard also saluted. It was pretty clear who held the cards as far as numbers went. Now, they were here for politics. So, waving them forward toward a conference room. As they entered it, they found themselves in a room with several seats around a table that had a holographic display. The seats were office chairs made of black leather and the ship itself had a nice view to Cera itself...

Lasky regarded the planet and smiled. It reminded him of home. And of Corbulo Military Academy. As the entire group seated themselves, with the Arbiter, Chief and Guards of all sides choosing to stay on their feet. The Captain looked to the Admirals, then said "Thanks for the offer, Admirals. I'm glad this didn't turn into a shooting gallery..." Before receiving nods from both.

"Trust me, Captain, we think the same..." Admiral Lye said as a tray of refreshments was brought in. From the looks of it, some weak spirits, water and some juice of different fruit types, probably native to the planet. The man took the clear liquid that was the alcohol and poured himself half a cup, before filling the rest up with the orange liquid that was the actual juice. Rear Admiral Crescentia, meanwhile, simply poured himself a cup of water. Lasky, not to be rude, poured himself some water too.

After taking a sip from his drink, Marcus noted "Your ships are... Quite impressive. Dreadnaughts, I presume?"

"The _Infinity _is, yeah... The _Shadow of Intent, _meanwhile?" Lasky returned, taking a sip from his own drink. That raised some brows and a couple of the Ceran Marines whispered to each-other. Lye calmed them down with a wave of his hand, then looked to the Arbiter. The Elite simply gave a nod to the unspoken question. They _did _have a single CSO-class Supercarrier, as far as he knew from propaganda.

"Gods above..." Lye muttered. "Captain... If you don't mind us inquiring... What is the UNSC?"

... It was pretty clear they weren't anywhere near _home _anymore. So the Captain wasn't surprised the UNSC and Swords of Sangheillios weren't known... He began to explain "The United Nations Space Command is the military arm of our government. EarthGov, it's called. We're the ones tasked with maintaining security for the entire area of human-controlled space, including several dozen colony worlds."

... Lye hummed "I see..." and Lasky noticed he was... Not really buying it.

"We can grant you access to certain historical files of the UNSC and our people... We've got a history too long to go over in just this brief meeting. As I am sure you do." The Captain motioned past this particular question. The Cerans knew full-well that the Swords and them were out of their element, before motioning to the Arbiter and saying "And so would the Arbiter. We can compile as much data as you need to understand where we come from."

"I'd appreciate a thorough report and a summary of your history, Captain." Lye noted. "We are also here to discuss the status of your Warships and their presence in Ceran space, of course..."

... Of course... Lasky nodded "Yes, indeed. Forgive the unannounced intrusion, sirs. It wasn't really our choice where our little transportation error took us."

"From what my Rear Admiral told me on our way here, he says you quote 'Entered a black hole'." Lye said with disbelief evident in his speech. "Mind at least telling us how that happened?"

"Gladly." Lasky hummed. "Our mission on board the _Infinity, _Fleet Admiral, was a simple one. Explore the galaxy and find remnants of technology from an ancient civilization, to either appropriate for ourselves or destroy so that they don't fall in the hands of our foes. One such remnant of tech led us to an uncharted star system in the Far Rim of our Galaxy. A binary star system, specifically, which is a rarity in our Galaxy."

Seeing that they were listening, Lasky continued "Well, the Star System turned out to be housing more than just two stars and a few planets... Located in orbit above a planet that seemed wracked by a good few years of Nuclear bombardment, simply by the levels of surface, air and other radiation _and _the development of the Nuclear Winter that covered the planet jamming our sensors, we discovered an... I'm not sure if it was an _incomplete _Dyson Sphere, or a Cradle that contained a Black Hole, either harnessing its energy or stabilizing it for travel."

... Crescentia had to be sure... "Did it have any sort of symbols on it? Did some of the parts... Move...?"

"Some of the boons holding the frame together shifted to allow space for our ships to pass through as the Black Hole's gravity well pulled us inside." The Arbiter stated. "It was disconcerting." and the Admirals looked with a bit of surprise... Crescentia most of all... He sighed, rubbing his eyes, then spoke "Can't be, can it? Tell me it ain't it, Jonah. Tell me we ain't hearing of Ryuvian tech in some other godforsaken Galaxy or Universe..."

... Lyre chewed on the thought for a bit as he saw Lasky's look shift from one of calm to surprise. Sighing as he weighed in the possibilities, he said "I'm afraid so, Marcus... Forgive the dumbfounding terminology, Captain, but... I do believe that technology was not from _your _precursor species. It was from a forerunner civilization that ruled our Galaxy for a good few millennia. And it was a human civilization."

Lasky pursed his lips... "That's concerning, alright... You're telling me your people, whatever or whoever they were, managed to stabilize a Black Hole that allowed them to jump universes? For what purpose?" and he saw Crescentia straighten up a bit and look at him. The Admiral didn't mince words as he spoke "Because the Ryuvians were going through a very bloody civil war, as far as the legends go. And for better or for worse, that planet you found next to the Black Hole Portal was a Ryuvian attempt at restarting their empire in a new Galaxy... But the fact that you found it burned out and full of rads tells us that they failed. Infighting there too..."

The Arbiter and the Captain exchanged glances. Then they turned to the Chief... The Spartan seemed none the wiser about this. Sighing, Lasky turned back to the Admirals and steepled his hands together, before saying "Well, I guess that's... A lot to take in." and nodding to the Arbiter and Chief. They nodded back, before the Captain turned to ask "I've... Got a request or an offer, depending on how you look at it."

"Shoot, Captain." Lyre said... He knew what came next.

"Considering the events that unfolded as of the last... I'm gonna count at least 12 hours. Me and my crew are gonna need some time to adjust. I wish to ask for you and your politicians to allow us to asylum until we discover a way home." The Captain asked calmly, a stern look in his face. "In return, the UNSC _Infinity _shall provide a boost in numbers and firepower to the Ceran Space Force for the duration of our stay here as a foreign political entity... As I do not speak for the _Shadow of Intent _and her crew, I will let the Arbiter declare his desires himself."

"I must consult with my crew, but I will say that, once they hear of this situation..." The Arbiter denoted in a calm manner, as was usual for the Elite that was Thel. "I do believe they will wish for us to remain united with the _Infinity _and her Staff for the duration of our... Undoubtedly long stay here." And he continued politely "Provided Cera will have Extra-Terrestrials, as we're referred to by humans, located on its soil."

The Admirals seemed a bit surprised by the request and the way it was formulated. Lye turned to Crescentia and whispered something, before excusing himself to the corridor outside the meeting room. A raised brow got Lasky this answer from Marcus:"He's making a Call toward the Ceran government to explain the situation to them... And formulate a good way to reveal to the people back home that we've met what's basically our first Extra-Galactic encounter."

"... A respectable decision." The Arbiter admitted.

"Yep... Would be surprised if he didn't wanna talk to them..." The Officer sighed. "Chief, get a couple of Marines and go prep the Pelican for launch. I want wheels up as soon as we're done here." and he received a silent salute from the Spartan. Leaving the room meant the door closed with an imperceptible hiss behind the Spartan and his duo of Marines... Lasky, meanwhile, was left with Marcus to ponder the situation...

"So... Extra-Galactic, huh?" Marcus snorted. "Wait 'till my daughter and her friend hear I basically helped start negotiations with aliens..."

"You've got family?" Lasky hummed "Must be tough being away from them."

"Oh, it's a pain... But my little Ava's a trooper in her own right. And just as stuck in rules as her old man. Hell, I'll be surprised if she doesn't follow in my footsteps and join the Navy later on."

"Keeping family traditions..." Lasky quipped. And the Admiral chuckled. They watched the Fleet Admiral step back inside and got a nod... So this was the start of the story. The new home of the UNSC and Elite ship would be interesting to deal with. Research and Development agreements were being written up, as well as housing accommodation for the UNSC personnel... And other agreements needing to be signed...


	2. Driving it home

**UNSC ****_Infinity._**

**_Almost a week since negotiations begun..._**

The crew on the Bridge of the _Infinity _had been asked to prepare for the arrival of Ceran Diplomats. Today, the big girl would be doing a Mock Battle with the Ceran Naval Forces, in which Battleships of older designs, originally meant to be scrapped, would be used as controlled drones. They would have mock ammunition and the order of the day was to disable the _Infinity's _hardlight shields.

But for now, the main task fell to Thomas Lasky. He would take the arriving diplomats on the bridge of the Warship before beginning a demonstration. He'd have someone show off only the key areas, maintaining secrecy over the Forerunner-built engines bolted onto the ship for now. To that effect, those areas had to be cordoned off under pretext of 'maintenance'. Not a lie, either, since they wanted to figure out how this Ryuvian tech affected the engines.

Despite her dislike for someone else handling the Engines and Core, however, Doctor Catherine Elisabeth Halsey had found herself standing in the rather large hangar bay. Arranging her labcoat, the woman watched as Marines milled about their usual business and Deck Crew checked on the vehicles. Sitting beside her was Blue Team, with John at the forefront, looking at the hangar bay doors and awaiting for the UNSC transports to arrive.

"Flight Deck's busy." Halsey remarked absentmindedly. This Ryuvian tech was interesting... She'd hope to get some chance to verify some of it... The Ceran techs that first arrived on board also called it 'Lost Technology'. Something made by man's hand that was a thousandfold more powerful than what they had right now. If she could get back home and with this tech...

"That it is, ma'am." John returned calmly.

"Who's with the Ceran Ministers?" Kelly asked, leaning back onto the metal box she was sat upon.

"NOBLE Team, I think..." Linda hummed, cleaning her sniper "You wouldn't believe how glad Jun was when he heard they'd managed to retrieve them from Reach... What surprises me the most is that Kat, the team's tech expert, survived..."

"A direct shot from a Needle Rifle's piercing ammo should've been a death sentence." Fred noted, cocking back the bolt of his DMR and cleaning his weapon thoroughly. "Especially through the head."

"Word has it the round punched through but missed any vitals... She's deaf in one ear and lost sight in her left eye, though." Kelly returned, cocking the pump of her shotgun back and removing a few rounds from the magazine. She placed them next to her, keeping them from rolling, before disassembling the gun "Doesn't explain the others, like the Commander or Jorge... Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see the big man, but..."

"They either have a hell of a lot of luck or are good at what they do." The voice of Commander Palmer came in from behind them. "Sorry to interrupt, but we've got incoming. Two Pelicans and a flight of those Mechs they call 'Ryders' just popped up on Radar, coming from the planet. Surprised those things are aerodynamic enough to deal with exoatmospheric flight..."

"Must've met them along the way." Fred said. "I've read a small debrief about them being omnipresent as space fighters, but incapable of intra-atmospheric operation."

"Ah... That explains things." Palmer sighed. "Master Chief?"

"Hmm?" The Spartan turned around to the woman. "Something wrong, Commander?"

Palmer pursed her lips as she tried to think of a way not to piss the Spartans off, then said "Not to sound rude toward the Doc, but shouldn't she be in her... Err... 'Room'?"

"Captain Lasky personally asked me to help with the tour, Commander." Halsey clipped her wings faster than she could add anything, then continued, looking to the redhead in a catsuit with disapproval "If you have a problem with me walking freely around the ship _I_ helped design _and _upgrade, take it up with him." before turning back and taking out her tablet to write notes...

Palmer sighed "Right... I'll get back to the Spartan Deck." and with that, she left...

Those on-deck watched as the Ryders remained outside, while the Pelicans came in for touchdown. Their engines flared as the Dropship Model 77s began their touchdown. Marines and BLUE Team lined up, waiting for them. With light clanging of metal against metal, the vehicles touched down. Piling out were a squad of Marines that escorted the Captain, followed by the Captain himself and some VIPs.

Halsey watched as men in suits descended onto the deck, currently in talks with a Marine about current events, perhaps. Then, came NOBLE Team. With modified Mark-II MJOLNIR armors, the Spartan fireteam of six members stepped off. Catherine's helmet had been changed a while back, from the AIR ASSAULT to the RECON Variation, but no other really noticeable change was visible. Jun's armor, meanwhile, was turned from the old MARK IV SCOUT to the current model, including a pair of goggles at the top of the helmet that acted as rangefinders.

Jorge, meanwhile, maintained his old MJOLNIR armor set, but with the Mark II upgrades, including better shielding. And he seemed to be hauling a heavier weapon than prior. Following him, Carter had kept his Commando set, but elected to upgrade only shielding for now. Emile had definitely gotten an upgrade. His EVA Helmet was more rounded and heavily armored and his Kukri was now located on the breast plate.

The soldiers saluted the Chief and Blue team and it was returned quickly as the Ceran officials stepped onto the deck themselves. One of them, a woman around Halsey's age, stared with surprise around at the ship itself. "Goodness gracious..." The woman spoke, staring around, before turning to Doctor Halsey and her Spartan Escort and asking "Was this built by your UNSC?"

"Across nearly a decade and with a lot of resources poured into the project, myself included, yes." Halsey answered cordially. "I am Doctor Catherine E. Halsey. The head researcher currently aboard the UNSC _Infinity_." and, of course, its maintenance officer.

"Samantha Irons. Ceran Defense Minister." The woman smiled, extending her hand. Halsey calmly shook it and Irons added "A pleasure."

"All mine, Minister Irons." The woman nodded "The men and women behind you are your cabinet, I presume?" And she got a nod back. The woman hummed... Then spoke as the Spartans joined her to begin escort duty "_The eagle born by freedom won, yet held in precarious station, set upon defense and steeled his will to guard and protect his new nation. So he resolved, defiant of all who would challenge his right to be free, with a "swift-sailing vessel and ten carriage guns" to hunt the world's oceans and seas. Born to go into harm's way, come all! Ye hell or high waters be damned! No lightning, no thunder nor hurricane gale can stand in the face of his wrath. Be he beneath his enemy's feet or by cloud where their gaze can not go, when Leviathan rises, every last man shall shake to the core of their soul..." _

Everyone Ceran(and some UNSC Marines) raised a brow at Halsey's little speech, whilst Irons felt a chill shoot up her spine... And Halsey hummed, then explained "I was making an analogy. This warship is the best in the UNSC fleet. She has our military's brightest commanders, Navy and Army, aboard. She is the most dangerous warship for that matter alone. Its armament package far outdoes anything currently produced in Ceran and UNSC space... _She_ is Leviathan. The most dangerous warship currently present... Probably within your galaxy."

"I see..." Irons smirked giddily "This is gonna be fun..."

"Shall we begin the tour, then?" Halsey offered... And with a nod, the group passed through the Hangar section, where a great deal of fighters and aircraft meant for transport and warfare resided. Vehicles loaded for bear and ready to deliver hell... As they went through the ship, section by section, Halsey explained to them from aboard the Train Car heading from there to the bridge about the ship's abilities.

Passing through the middle section of the ship, aboard the train car, with the Spartans as escort, they found themselves beside a cavernous area in the hull, where there were a great deal of catwalks and machines. And Spartans, both in and out of armor... Halsey began "This is the deck colloquially known as Spartan Deck. It is where our cadre of Supersoldiers, the SPARTANs, are stationed at around Company strength with every rotation whenever we're in our own space. It is currently occupied by Gypsy company and members of Thunder."

Watching as some of the Spartans got in and out of their armored suits at their specific stations, Irons could only grin. "How heavily engineered are they?" before turning to Halsey "If you call'em supersoldiers, how gene-engineered are they?" to which Halsey simply shook her head and put her index to her mouth. Irons snorted, then leaned back and said "Of course, it'd be classified..." then looked to the Chief and BLUE team.

"What I can tell you is that they are very effective." Halsey denoted calmly "BLUE Team and the soldiers that escorted you here, known as NOBLE Team, have a propensity of achieving victory and surviving even in the most insane of conditions..." Halsey recalled finding the scattered members of NOBLE with the help of John. Kat's survival was still most intriguing to her...

As they passed into the next section, specifically the quote-unquote 'Hold' of the ship, the Defense Minister's eyes went wide... Six warships hanged in cradles, faces down and were being tended to by the engineering crews. The Warships were small, Frigate-sized(At least for UNSC standards) and seemed to hold a similar armament to their Mother Ship.

"This is the Hold for the Strident-class fire support Frigates." Halsey noted "Built on similar technology to the _Infinity _herself, the Stridents are a capable help against anything."

"Damn... And they can be taken with the ship?" Irons' eyes went wide...

"They're meant to be stocked aboard, yes, but they have their own FTL engines." The woman spoke.

"What kind of FTL do you guys and gals have?" Irons asked, leaning back into her seat.

"It is called Slip-space on our side of the spectrum. Before you start asking, it allows us to quote-unquote 'cut a hole' through space-time and slip into that hole, thus allowing travel in a matter of days or hours between systems." Halsey denoted, to which Sam whistled. Halsey gave a nod and said "Depending on how talks go, we could start refitting the entire Ceran fleet with Shaw-Fujikawa Slip Drives..."

"That'd sure as hell make interventions more timely." The Ceran MoD said with a smile, taking out a tablet from her pocket and jotting down further expansion of talks for equipment upgrades like the Slip Drives... She hummed, then turned to the woman before her and continued by asking in a friendly demeanor "Doctor Halsey, how briefed are you about our... Umm... Galaxy."

"Enough to know that the Ryuvians are an ancient precursor to modern-day human civilizations and that their downfall was... Shockingly enough... Infighting." Halsey answered calmly "But their tech, as far as I understood, outdoes ours by a good few millennia." and she took out her glasses, noticing Irons motion to the tablet, a smile on her face. The MoD handed her the tablet, which Halsey took into her hands calmly, before running a finger over the only file on-screen... A string of words began to line the tablet... And Halsey's brows quirked up.

**_SUNRIDER PROJECT_**

**_CLASSIFICATION CODE:SCARLET_**

**_ENCRYPTION SCHEME:TYPE ZERO  
_**

**_ACCESS:GRANTED  
_**

**_WELCOME, MINISTER IRONS..._**

**_PROJECT SUMMARY:_**The Sunrider Project is a culmination of Ceran technological advances. As schematics, shown on the Left, reveal, the ship is meant to be an Assault Carrier with Battleship-class Armaments. The newest technological advances, among which new deflector Shielding technology, composite armor, pulse armaments and the Prototype VANGUARD MARK-IIa SPINAL ENERGY CANNON, will be installed. Program estimated Cost:3,6 Billion Credits. Program Estimated Time of Completion:4 Years.

Halsey squinted a bit, closing the file, before looking at the Minister... "What are you trying to get at, Minister Irons?"

"In order to show Ceran desire for cooperation between us and the limited UNSC and Swords of Sangheillios presence within our system, I present to you the Ceran Navy's biggest project. The Assault Carrier _Sunrider. _She's about to begin construction within the coming months, to further bolster our currently upgrading Navy just in case." The Minister explained in a friendly manner. "We're isolationists and severely rely on armed neutrality... But even we know that, if we get allies like you showing up out of thin air and offering to actually talk to us, we don't look the gift horse in the mouth... Hence, we chose to tell you about the girl."

Halsey hummed, then looked at the schematics for the ship... And then told Irons "Considering it's still being prepared to be built... Can your government spare an extra month? I can... perhaps... Get Captain Lasky to allow me to work on upgrading the ship's design." to which she saw the MoD's eyes shimmer with joy. Halsey looked over the data... "Saviors can probably be replaced with MAC guns... Mini-MACs with elongated barrels, three per turret... Pulse, if I can get to talk to the Sangheilli, can probably be replaced by Plasma... And more to come."

"Doc..." Irons smirked "I have a feeling you and I are gonna be good friends."

Halsey looked up over her glasses, then said "I'd hope so, miss Irons. I _will _be helping to upgrade your fleet's combat power substantially."

After another bit of a short tour, the crew arrived to the bridge. Captain Lasky walked up to greet the women and Spartans. She nodded to Halsey, who gave a nod back ,then turned to the Minister and said "Minister Irons. Welcome aboard the _Infinity. _We were just about ready to start the demonstration of her combat capabilities... We're sorry to say, but the _Shadow of Intent _will not be training with us."

"Oh?" The woman raised her brow.

"The Arbiter doesn't wish to disclose the Carrier's armament for now." The man said.

"... Understandable, I guess... Still, an alien ship is reassuring to have." Irons smiled. "Now, we'll find our seats. Begin whenever you may, Captain." before going to the back of the Bridge. Far enough not to be trouble, but close enough to watch as the crews got to positions. Lasky stepped up to the windows, then ordered "Prepare Battle-Net and give me a 3D display of hostile fleet disposition on the Holo-Deck." Before tapping his com and saying "Fleet Admiral. Rear Admiral... We're ready to begin."

Lasky then turned back to the crew and said "Operational briefing is as follows:" as the Holo-Image of the sector of space they were in showed up on the table at the center of the room. Sixteen scarlet dots appeared on the far right, while on the left, a single blue dot. Lasky continued "We have sixteen enemy AI-controlled ships on approach. Four are capital-class, among which a Support Carrier while the others are battleships. The others are support ships and a scout group of Ryders... Ensign Williams, prepare us to advance. We'll be joined by two allied Battleships."

"The _Infallible _and _Silver Dragon _will be with us as we go... Enter status, Red Alert." Lasky then noted. Alarms began to blare. "Power shields..." A yellow blanket of energy covered the outer hull of the UNSC ship, reaching 100%, then vanishing. "All weapons ready... Communications established... _Infinity, _departing for combat." And then, several Radio calls from the Ceran Admirals came as their ships winked into view beside the Dreadnought.

In space, the engines of the massive ship flared blue. Trailing her, two specks flanked the ship, smaller in size than her by a large margin. The Battleships of the Ceran Fleet prepared themselves to engage. From the hangars of the UNSC Dreadnought, several Fighters in the shape of wedges appeared and took formation. The Longsword Bombers, numbering around 20 in two full squadrons and armed with torpedoes, moved forward and ahead as a picket.

The enemy Ryders began their approach from 40,000 KM out and closing. The Fighters arched and powered their engines to full. Their chainguns revved up and the crew aboard them readied to engage. One of the Remote-Controlled Drone Ryders flew overhead, aiming what looked like an oversized Sub-Machine Gun attached to its left arm at them. A burst of fire erupted from the barrels of the advancing Ryder. It banked up, keeping its gun trailing on one of the Fighters... Instead of the usual Flak rounds, however, it fired a light EMP charge, meant to disable the ship as to 'knock it' out of combat.

The Fighters, however, were having none of it. Two of them split off from the Formation and banked up after the Ryder. One rolled out of the way of the Machine Gun fired by the Ryder, before bringing to bear its own guns. The Chainguns revved and roared as a half-second burst struck the outer hull of the Ryder, entering the internals of its 'thigh' and 'leg'. The humanoid mech's body part sparked as the rounds punched through and its thruster was disabled.

It switched up weapons, before trying to straighten up and boosting itself. As it aimed what looked to be a double-barrel weapon at them, a wave of blue energy ran past one of the ships, sparking with electricity. It banked hard left to avoid the first Longsword from colliding into it, but the second Fighter got a clean lock. Its gatling guns, probably somewhere around 30mm in strength, made short work of the enemy. The remote-controlled Ryder exploded in a shower of sparks as its core was destroyed by the large-caliber rounds, with the Longsword that took it out flying in its wake.

The two fighters banked to rejoin the formation as heavy 'Flak' EMP rounds came from the Battleships, which powered forward toward them. Meanwhile, the Carrier launched more automated Ryders... It was clear the AI on board them was dumb, as was the aiming capability. Two of the Longswords let off their Torpedoes and banked to engage the incoming Fighter Ryders with their guns.

The long-range missiles launched by the Ryders, tipped with a High-Explosive Warhead each, altered trajectory and aimed for the Carrier. As black clouds and explosions from the Flak clouded their path, the two HE torpedoes continued unabated, before banking toward the mouth of the hangar and striking with extreme prejudice. The detonation that ensued rattled the Remote-Controlled warship to its core and the second one burst the inside, vivisecting the ship from the inside out...

Several Ryders, now left carrier-less, opened fire with their Flak Guns. One of the fighters was 'tagged' and disabled by the EMP, but the others soon responded by scattering and engaging separate targets... The _Infinity _and her Battleship Escort, meanwhile, were barreling toward the battle area. One of the targets was a Battleship that was now bringing its main guns to bear on them...

The _Infallible _shot first. its twin double-turret Saviors thundered in the emptiness of space and four projectiles left the barrels. Three of the superheated rounds went wide or were near-misses, but the fourth hit the left side of the ship, causing some damage and taking out three of its Flak Turrets. The 50mm Point-Defense cannons of the _Infinity_ soon lit up the night sky with tracers. One of the twin-mount turrets tracked a Ryder Bomber approaching from the left and lit it up with High-Caliber rounds. The ship's shields flared as the Robo-Battleship fired again and hit dead-center, this time. The rounds either vaporized in the shield or vanished...

The others opened fire in conjecture with their sister battleship. At this range, the rounds didn't miss, but they barely did anything... As the human-controlled warships closed the gap, their Fighter-Bomber escort soon followed. One Longsword nailed a Ryder right in the back engine, sending it spiraling out of control. The humanoid craft landed, 'feet' first into the front of the _Infallible,_ scratching the paint but not damaging the Ceran warship as its Flak Guns powered and engaged the other approaching Ryders. Its cannons, at Rear Admiral Crescentia's orders, fired again at the support ships.

Multiple Frigates began an enveloping maneuver, which made the Battleships turn hard to meet them with forward batteries and missiles. The Hell Darts, the Ceran Swarm-type missile systems, roared out of their racks and flew in, arching toward the Frigates that tried to stop them with the EMP Flak. Some missiles were caught by the heavy clouds of explosive electromagnetic ordnance and were blasted, but those that made it punched clean through several Frigates' armors and detonated inside. The small ships suffered heavy damage, but managed to avoid more and engaged.

The _Infinity's _Deck Guns, a system of magnetically-enhanced heavy weapons, spun up and engaged. The magnetized projectiles screamed as the ship got even closer to the intended target:The lead Battleship. On the Bridge, the Captain hummed, then spoke "Get me a targeting solution for the MAC, Roland." and received his answer in the form of the Gunnery chiefs aligning the gun at the Battleship which fired its main guns at basically point blank. Shields were suffering, much to the surprise of Samantha, but she saw that no projectile was getting through them...

"MAC Solution achieved." Roland said.

"Fire at Half-Power." The captain ordered...

And, if Sam wasn't impressed before by the feats of the Warship in cooperation with the Cerans(Which she was... Quite so), the next attack _rocked her world_...

The massive ship shuddered across its spinal mount as one of the four gun barrels pointed forward let loose a projectile about the size and mass of a small ship into the void between her and the enemy. _Infinity's _hull groaned with the stress of the shot, as if speaking to the crew aboard... And once the round made contact, the gigaton-sized strike savaged the entire ship from bow to stern, igniting the Core inside upon it impacting. Said Battleship blew up in a brilliant spark of white light, making the UNSC Dreadnought shake and shudder due to the shockwave... But her shields repelled most of the blast.

"Battleship destroyed!" Roland reported happily "All other Enemy ships are in range of Deck Guns and taking severe fire."

"Let's finish this. Tell the Admirals to brace and take cover." The Captain ordered. "I want safeties off of ARCHER tubes one through sixteen. Lock onto whatever ships remain and make sure we've got them zeroed in. I authorize use of Strike Package, Tango-Lima-099. Time:Oh-Four Hundred Charlie." and the reports streamed in... Multiple missile silos, concealed amidship in the armor, opened up... And out from them streaked brilliant, golden trails of fire and smoke. The supersized warheads of the ARCHER rockets flew through the dense Flak of the remaining Dummy Ships and into them, detonating in sixteen distinct flashes of orange fire and blazing-hot shrapnel...

The few Radar contacts that remained on the map and weren't friendly winked off together as their cores died out, engines failed or the Dumb AI matrix controlling them was destroyed, leaving only the debris of several severely damaged warships ready for recycling... Taking a moment to look outward at the destruction, the Captain, with a smile on his face, ordered "Stand down Red Alert." and the claxons and wails of the ship shut off with the calm white returning to the bay. The man turned about to the lady, her retinue and Doctor Halsey, then, with a hint of smugness, said "I do believe that is the end of the Mock Battle... Mission accomplished."

Sam's grin was very noticeable. She hadn't ever seen such firepower mounted on even the biggest Warships available to any side in this war. Not even the New Empire could hope to match this. And they basically offered to be allies in turn for... What? A little bit of money and a place to stay... If this was how powerful the Infinity was, she dreaded and smiled at the thought of how powerful the _Shadow_, an entirely _alien _vessel would be.

"So..." Halsey looked to the woman beside her, giving her half a grin "Do we have a deal?"

Sam smirked... "I have to talk to my superiors, but... Hell. Yes."

She, Halsey and the Captain shook hands, with one of the woman's adjutants taking a photo...

**_A Timeline of the Events since the Ceran Tripartite Defense Pact had been signed:_**

**_STANDARD UNSC CALENDAR(Day, Month, Year) _**

**_D10, M06, Y2559-_**_The training exercises, as well as the negotiations for extended asylum for the two extra-galactic warships, finalize. Tripartite Pact is signed...  
_

**_D20, M06, Y2559-_**_The UNSC_ Infinity_ and the_ SOS Shadow of Intent _are__ officially revealed to the public on Cera. Aside from raucous welcomes from the population, the joy of finding out Aliens exist in our realm. Celebrations are held across Cera. Despite the Civilian Population being made aware, they are also warned about information leaks... Thankfully, the UNSC and Swords of Sangheillios ships will remain hidden for a long period of time. Ceran isolationist beliefs are strengthened to keep them as such._

**_D30, M06, Y2559-_**_Work is started on the first CSF Assault Carrier under joint supervision of the three parties present, with each contributing to upgrading the Ceran Warship as its construction goes along. The _Sunrider _is set to become one of the most advanced Warships in Ceran history._

**_D07, M07,__ Y2559-_**_The _Infinity _and _Shadow of Intent _covertly assist in patrols around Cera by deploying squadrons of Longswords and Seraphs, as well as sensor drones and buoys. Also today, the Ceran scientific community is trained in the creation of Slip-Space Drives. Technology for advanced FTL is worked into prototype stage and will be produced in time for the upgrades required by the Navy._

**_D08, M05,__ Y2560-_**_Paradise, Ongess and Harmony fall to the evergrowing war machine of the People's Alliance for Common Treatment(PACT). Neutral Rim governments not yet occupied grow agitated. Among them, Cera, now on a Rearmament plan... At around same date, Ava Crescentia, daughter to Rear Admiral Marcus Crescentia, leaves for training at the Naval Academy of Cera City._

**_D13, M01,__ Y2561-_**_Plans are put in motion per Captain Thomas Lasky's proposes the creation of 'Thanix' Orbital Defense Platforms and Cradle-class Stations around Cera. The Thanix ODPs, unlike their UNSC counterparts which wield Super MACs, shall mount prototype VANGUARD MARK IIa Cannons with extended ranges as testbeds for attachment to the _Sunrider. _B. Fontana is promoted to Veniczar and elected as the enigmatic Veniczar Supreme Arcadius's right hand man. _

**_D08, M05,_**_** Y2561-**Kayto Shields, friend to Ava Crescentia, who is now of Commander Rank after excelling at her studies, leaves High School and enlists in the Naval Academy, training to be an Executive Officer. Several dozen worlds fall to the PACT._

**_D25, M07, Y2561-_**_The Ryuvian Princess goes missing after the king of Ryuvia, Jaylor vi Ryuvia, promises her hand to Arcadius, in hopes of keeping Ryuvia from being targeted by the ever-expanding PACT military. The Ceran Space Force's first 5 Thanix ODPs come online. Station Cradle-01 is finished and will act as dry-dock for the _Infinity _and_ Shadow of Intent. _The PACT makes more gains at an alarming rate..._

**_D15, M09,__ Y2561-_**_The first test of Slip-Space FTL drives by the CSF _Infallible _is completed... The licensed drives are under works to be mounted onto all CSF Vessels_

_**D30-01, M12-01, Y2561-2562-**The keel of the _Sunrider _is laid at Cradle-02, nicknamed the Sunny Palace. Armaments and FTL Drive are mounted onto the warship..._

**_D20, M04,__ Y2563-_**_Kayto Shields graduates at the rank of Captain from the Military Academy's Officer Program. He and several other officers and crew have gone through joint training with UNSC Naval Officers to command the newly-minted __CSF _Sunrider. _The ship awaits the arrival of its Captain within Cradle-02's confines. At the same time, Commander Ava Crescentia is sent to the Assault Carrier as Executive Officer, to oversee the final shakedown, alongside a Skeleton Crew. 10 ODPs currently active over Cera..._

**_PROJECT FILE 07_**

**_PROJECT NAME:SUNRIDER  
_**

**_STATUS:COMPLETED, AWAITING CREW_**

**_CLASSIFIED, VERMILION CLEARANCE REQUIRED..._**

**_NAME:HALSEY, CATHERINE E._**

**_PASSWORD:***********_**

**_... ACCEPTED. WELCOME, DOCTOR CATHERINE HALSEY._**

**_DECLASSIFYING INFORMATION_**

**_SHIP NAME:CSF SUNRIDER_**

**_CLASSIFICATION:SUNRIDER-CLASS ASSAULT CARRIER_**

**_SPECS_**

**_Length:800 Meters_**

**_Width:160 Meters._**

**_Height:160 Meters(Without Conning tower), ~220 Meters(With conning tower)_**

**_Displacement:1,500,000 Metric Tonnes._**

**_FTL Drive:Shaw-Fujikawa Slip-Space Drive Mark IV_**

**_Power Plant:Deuterium Cold Fusion Reactor_**

**_Shield(Awaiting installation in Cradle):MG-44L Heavy Dispersal Field Generator_**

**_Crew:200 Personnel(Engineers, Deck Crew, Officers) 400 Marines(UNSC and Ceran), 10 Spartans(Mini-Spartan Deck in belly of ship)_**

_**ARMAMENTS**_

_**Main Weaponry:12x Hammer Mini-MACs(14' Barrels) mounted in four triple turrets; Spinal-mount Vanguard Mark IIa high-output Energy Cannon;8x side-mounted Trinity Laser systems.**_

_**Secondary Weaponry:20 M910 Point-Defense Guns on lateral mounts(AMMO TYPE:FLAK Ammunition, HE Ammunition, AP Ammunition); 4 AAA Helix Guns(Anti-Missile CIWS) mounted two frontal, two dorsal, 4 twin-mount Plasma pulse turrets. **_

_**Missiles and heavy ordnance:20x Hell Dart 40mm swarm missile tubes with subsequent ammunition racks; 2 Contained Plasma Launchers(Plasma Torpedoes similar to the CAS-class carrier's weapons).**_

_**FIGHTER AND SHIP COMPLEMENT**_

_**Ryders:Hangar space for 12**_

_**SABRE-Class Fighters:4(Reconnaissance)**_

**_EVA BOOSTER FRAMES:6_**

**_Repair Drone Swarms:4_**

**_D77L Pelican Dropships:3_**

**_DR HALSEY'S NOTES_**

**_May have been over-designed by the local authorities and us, is surprisingly well-equipped for such a relatively small vessel. And the battle plating we've given it is good for taking several shots from local kinetic weapons before buckling... Here's to hoping she will never need to be used in a war against the PACT... Yet if the need arises..._**


	3. Not all is as it seems

The sun lazily shined over the horizon of the glittering orb of blue and green that was Cera... From aboard the Pelican shuttling him to his first command, Captain Kayto Shields, a white-haired man, with pale skin and deep blue eyes stared at his home. Winking in the distance were the newly-created Orbital Defense Platforms built with the help of their allies. Four years. Four _long _years. That's how much time had passed since the UNSC _Infinity _and the _Shadow of Intent _showed up in Ceran orbit. Now, one of the two ships, the _Infinity, _Specifically, was situated in a rather large Cradle just a few thousand Kilometers across from their own. The man could see the massive black ship sitting within the Station's ribcage-like Dry Dock.

UNSC Aircraft and Ceran Ryders maintained patrol patterns, with Longswords buzzing some of the stations around and even them. Two of the newer Broadswords, smaller and more nimble variations of the Fighters employed by the UNSC Navy, joined up with the shuttle, which contained extra crew for the ship, including a squad of around 12 Marines. And seated in front of him, an old woman who wore glasses and a labcoat... Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey. One of the main reasons for the more advanced defenses of Cera.

Kayto watched as they flew by one of the Ceran-manned Orbital Defense Platforms. Unlike their UNSC counterparts in their part of the world, the Ceran ODPs, known as the Thanix-classes, were more skeletal. They were T-Shaped, with the central pylon being where the VANGUARD, the most powerful energy projector weapon of the Ceran Navy, had been installed. It had been boosted with extra range for the sake of hitting targets entering Cera's gravity well... So around 100,000 Kilometers' range. And the gun itself had two prongs that acted as energy conductors and projectors, while down the middle was the main power core... The stations also held M910 Point-Defense and 20mm Gatling Guns as defenses against approaching fighters...

"Cannae wait to see yer girl, eh, sir?" One of the UNSC Marines aboard, a Scottsman by the accent, mocked, nudging Kayto in the shoulder. Other Marines chuckled and the Doctor herself hummed, tapping a few lines into a datapad she'd brought with her. Probably looking over the supply manifest. PACT had been getting a bit too close to Ceran Space for anybody's comfort...

"Ava? ... It's been a while since we've seen each-other, yeah... I doubt she even remembers me." Kayto answered with a hum... Halsey snorted. As did the Marine.

"The Commander. Nay, sir, I meant yer ship. Hey! Connely! Bring us about! Let the Capt'n see his ship!" He said... And Kayto felt a slight change in their direction as the Dropship swiveled ever slightly about...

And finally, coming into view, was Cradle 02. Fondly named after the ship it housed, the Sunny Palace held the Ceran Navy's most powerful warship to date. With a mix of UNSC, Sangheilli and Ceran tech, the CSF _Sunrider _was a beauty to behold, with an air of elegance and danger, like an arrowhead, poised to strike its target. The white hull had the name of the ship situated near by one of the Plasma superconductors on the wings, just above what looked to be the main containment for the advanced munitions... At the top near the nose and on the back were triple turrets housing 14 inch barrels that had magnets capable of accelerating projectiles at up to 4% the Speed of Light. Not unlike the UNSC's Super-MACS mounted on the _Infinity. _On its sides were mounted M910 Twin-Link AAA Batteries, Helix Guns and even Plasma turrets built to specification by the Sangheilli and Huragok, or Engineers...

"Wow..." Kayto said...

"Yes, indeed, Captain. Wow." Halsey gave the man a light mock. "Flight Lieutenant, whats the status with the docking?" She asked the pilot.

"We're about to hit the entry point, ma'am..." The Pilot answered, before flicking her com on "This is Pelican Zulu 3-7 to Cradle-02, we're requesting permission to Land and bring the Captain aboard." and preparing to bring the Pelican into the hangar of the Cradle station... She smirked as she got the answer "_Zulu 3-7, this is Sunny Palace ATC. You're clear for landing in the _Sunrider _Hangar Bay. Watch your tailgate when you land, over."_

"Roger that, Sunny Palace. We're coming in." The Pilot smiled. "Thanks for flying with Air Zulu, ladies and gents. Watch your heads and don't leave anything in the overhead netting that you wouldn't want me selling in the Ceran Market." and brought the bird into one of the side airlocks that led into the hangar of the ship. The bottom thrusters on the engine nacelles fired as the dropship entered the cavernous hangar of the jointly-designed ship and touched down.

On-deck was another gunship and 10 soldiers clad in heavy armor... Spartans, by the looks of things. As Kayto disembarked, he saw a woman at about chest level discussing with the Master Chief and the Commander of the second team. NOBLE, Kayto had heard they were called. As he approached and while the Marines left for their section of the bunks, the Spartans stood at attention. The brown-haired, scarlet-eyed woman clad in a Ceran Commander's female uniform turned about. Her long hair was wavy, reaching to her waist, but was well kept... As was to be expected.

"Captain on-deck!" The Commander saluted with a serious look.

Kayto saluted back and said "At ease, Commander, Spartans." with slight giddiness. The Spartans had become legendary figures on Cera. "I see you're briefing them here, then."

"I was merely welcoming them, sir." Ava noted calmly. Kayto nodded to her, then said to the Chief "Master Chief. Blue Team. Noble Team. Welcome aboard the CSF _Sunrider. _We're happy you could join or garrison."

"Our pleasure to be here, sir." Chief answered politely. Kayto nodded, then looked to the Commander and asked "So... Umm..." And things turned a bit to the awkward side of things... Halsey rolled her eyes and walked up to them.

"Commander, I do believe it's time we start our tour. Don't you?" She said, breaking the ice. Ava gave a nod, then showed them "Follow me." Before walking with the Captain and dismissing the Spartans to the S-Deck. Ava looked to the Captain and said a quick "You've certainly changed..." to which the man simply chuckled. She probably referred to the fact of a more protocol-based greeting, rather than a 'friendly' greeting. She gave him a nod and he nodded back...

"So. Where to first?" Kayto asked and saw Ava stop in the center of the Hangar Bay. She looked to the Captain and said calmly "As you probably know from specs and data, this is our Hangar Bay. It can store up to 12 Ryders, a scouting group of SABRE-Class UNSC Fighters and several Booster Frames built to fit in with the MJOLNIR armor sets of the Spartans."

"That's good." Kayto gave a nod.

"Indeed... Although we're currently running on a Skeleton crew and with low supplies, our Ryders and SABRE fighters are expected to arrive next Wednesday." Ava returned calmly, looking around. "The only thing we have at full strength is the UNSC presence. Marines and Spartans, as well as a liaison... Believe it or not, Artificial Intelligence with her own core within the ship."

"You're kidding." The boy smirked "An honest-to-god AI?"

"I never kid, Captain... The UNSC AI is called Cortana and she's currently working cohesively with our crew in running diagnostics and will also be running our Cyber Warfare suite during any combat operations." The girl said calmly, before looking at a wrist-mounted holographic bracelet and turning her hand to open it. "Miss Cortana." and... Kayto partially froze as a young woman's blue avatar took form from the Holo-Display.

"Commander." Cortana smiled, before turning to the Captain and saluting "Ah, Captain. Welcome aboard." and then looking to Halsey. The Doctor gave the AI a nod, to which Cortana continued "I will be serving as a direct liaison between you, _Infinity _and the _Shadow of Intent. _Communications, mail and such can be received and stored. Some of my subroutines will be working on keeping ship efficiency up to full and others will be working on weapons and such, to provide backup... The _Sunrider _can run with a Skeleton Crew of around 90 if needed now... Though I will be handing over control of systems from the Subroutines to the crew once we're at full strength."

"Understood. Where's your core situated, Cortana?" Kayto asked calmly.

"Near engineering, in RnD." The girl answered. "I have to go prep the ship for her maiden voyage, sir. Mind?"

"You're dismissed Cortana. And welcome aboard." Kayto nodded.

"To you as well, sir." She smirked, before winking off. Ava set her arm back down by her hip and said "Let's proceed. Up next will be Deck 1:Bridge and RnD." before walking them over to the Turbolift at the back of the hangar. Selecting Deck 1, the elevator took off with best speed up the conning tower, until it reached its designated area. Walking out into the empty hexagonal-shaped hallways and taking a left, the trio found themselves into a large room, with several deck crew present, among which officers and ensigns. They turned to salute the Captain, before turning back to their jobs... As they entered, Kayto lay eyes on a holographic display map that presented much of the Galaxy they were in.

Running around the place were a multitude of consoles, from communication to weaponry and engine status. Situated square in the middle and facing a window was the Captain's chair, which also had a large holographic projector left of it and a command console further to the right. Cortana's form currently occupied the holo-display, with several screens surrounding her. Past her, a window into the void of space was visible, with UNSC ships making their patrol routes.

"This is the Combat Information Center, also referred to as the Bridge or CIC." Ava explained "From here, you can command the efforts of the entire ship, plot our next jump to the target system and coordinate our Air Wing's efforts, as well as those of the ships that may be joining us from the UNSC Navy's limited presence. Cortana also has a terminal here if you wish to relay direct orders to her and I will be located right next to you at the XO's console."

"Pretty big bridge." Kayto hummed, noticing two of the gunner stations were at the forefront, just below him and near the window. "Those must be the VANGUARD gunners."

"Correct." Ava answered. "You can order a direct attack, but remember, even with the upgrades provided by the UNSC and Sangheilli to our reactor, there is still a charging time for firing the VANGUARD. And consequences if fired at overcharge..." before looking to Cortana and asking "What're the simulated effects of firing the VANGUARD at Overcharge?"

"If fired once, no major problems, provided we allow it to cool itself... And the recharge time to pass." Cortana hummed. "If fired twice or three times, it could melt the forward section of the main gun or break our Reactor's containment. Eitherway, Overcharge should remain a Last Resort if we're surrounded... And even then, used with moderation."

"Got it..." Kayto nodded "Thanks for the warning."

"Our pleasure, Captain." Ava and Cortana said in unison.

"We have a few more sections of the ship to see, Captain." Halsey noted. "We'll take our leave now."

"I'll keep running diagnostics. You come back after the tour's over and we can start, sir, ladies." Cortana smirked, writing up a few lines on the 'Engine' screen. As the trio walked out of the bridge and toward the rear of the ship, Kayto heard a low hum and started to also feel vibrations in the air... Finally, entering the RnD section of the ship, he felt his hairs stand on-end, but managed to maintain a professional demeanor as he looked straight into the maw of what felt like a black hole... Situated between five inches of reinforced alloy and leaded glass, the massive Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine's core pulsed an eerie blue as sparks flew into specially-designed rods meant to contain the energy fluctuations...

To his left, Kayto saw a second core, this one large, circular and with multiple control rods. It emanated a faint vapor and the temperature around it was a bit below the average of the Warship. It was housed, suspended, over what seemed to be a specially-designed pit. Multiple wires ran across the top, neatly arranged and moving throughout the ship... The damn thing was like a sea urchin or a mine with multiple prongs poking out of it, those being control rods. And around it were catwalks and several terminals that linked to it, showing status updates. In-between these two items lay an unfinished laboratory that still had a lot of unoccupied space. And, of course, a small AI Matrix core resided in a tube in the far back, with a chip linked directly to the Matrix awaiting removal.

"This is Engineering and RnD. Here, you can see both the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Drive Core and our power core. We do not yet have the Chief Engineer to maintain them properly, but the few engineers we do have aboard have been doing a fine job keeping them running in normal parameters otherwise. That is, of course, due to us being stationary." Ava explained.

"RnD is where I will be located, should you wish for me to provide upgrades to any of your Ryders or armaments." Halsey stated "Of course, I will require a Chief Engineer to assist me with that, but I think it won't be a problem to wait another week." She then walked to her desk and said "I will unpack my things for now. Commander, Captain, you may proceed without me."

"Understood, Doctor." Ava gave a nod. Giving a wave, Kayto followed Ava as she walked off toward the Turbolifts. She looked to the Captain and said "She seems intrigued by the idea of working with our crew..."

"Doc Halsey was always like that, far as I heard..." Kayto noted. "How've you been, Ava?"

The woman looked ahead as they entered the turbolift, then said "Since we last talked or since I joined the Academy, Captain?"

"Either." Kayto shrugged.

"... I've been better, but I can't complain." Ava hummed, leaning back as the Turbolift began its ascent to Deck 0. The Crew Area. "The assignment to the _Sunrider _felt like a good opportunity... She's a jointly-designed ship with aid from Allies my father helped make and with a joint Officer Cadre. I've been given quite a lot of education in collaborating with the UNSC's limited Naval Personnel and with the Spartans..."

"Glad to hear I've got an expert in handling those guys." Kayto quipped. And he saw her stifling a laugh to maintain professionalism. The elevator pinged as they arrived at their next area and Ava stepped off first. Down the Hallway and to the Right, they moved past the Medical bay... And Kayto sighed "Next Wednesday... Right." before entering the Mess Hall. The room was fit for half of the ship crew to eat, with a buffet and an actual chef behind the station, as well as several dozen tables and seats. On the left, behind a wall, were some benches and a holographic screen displaying the outside. Specifically, Cera and the sea of stars around it.

"This is the Mess Hall, where you can meet with crew and chat after missions." Ava noted. "Also where you acquire food, but that's obvious."

"It's always good to know where the food is." Kayto quipped again... And Ava yet again gave him the Deadpan stare... He sighed "Moving on?" and was led out by Ava. She entered a place labelled 'Recreation Room', just beside the Mess Hall. Opening the door, she showed Kayto to a room with a small bar in the corner, a window with a perfect view of the Cradle station and, of course, several game machines and holo-visions. A vending machine rested in the left corner, beside a row of computers on desks and a plant resided to their left, just at the entryway. There were also two billiards tables at the center.

"This is an annex to the Mess Hall, called the Recreation Room. Here, crew and pilots may come to relax after missions with either games or drinks... As much as I disagreed with it, some of the Marines insisted for it to be added..." before rubbing her temples. "Let's go."

"I mean... It seems like a nice place." Kayto shrugged, making Ava mutter something to herself... He sighed, then chuckled to himself. Ava was still her old self. As they walked out of the Recreation Room, they marched into the Captain's room. The woman slid her bracelet over the scanner, then waved the Captain inside... To say the quarters wasn't a beauty would be a lie and a half... The beautiful furniture, the bed, the holographic screens that allowed an outside view, even the multi-level area with the office up top.

"Wow... Looks like I've moved up in the world." The Captain's grin returned. He looked to Ava

The woman nodded. "Indeed. Even I said that some of the things on board the _Sunrider _make it feel like a cruise ship... Alas, this is your office and personal quarters, Captain. Aside from serving as your quarters, there was an FTL communication device installed here in case you want to make calls. In the same vein, if crew members wish to meet you and talk, they'll be waiting in the hallway outside."

Kayto nodded "An open door means a happy crew. And a happy crew means a happy ship."

"Indeed." Ava nodded, a hint surprised at the Captain's behavior... She guessed that he was taught as such by the Academy Psychiatry professor. With a small smile, she offered "That would be the short tour. If you wish to discover more, you can explore the ship later on as you go. Now, let's proceed to the bridge and begin the... Maiden Voyage, as it was referred to." to which the Captain nodded... Back on the bridge, Kayto found his seat with Ava joining him.

"She's ready and rarin' to go, Captain." Cortana said. "All systems nominal."

"Good... Put me on the PA." Kayto said. Ava tapped a few buttons and Shields spoke toward a microphone in his shield. "Attention, all crew! This is your Captain speaking:We will soon begin engine tests for the _Sunrider's _Maiden Voyage. Enter yellow alert and maintain active sensor sweeps. Shields, over and out." before closing the mic. He heard the ship's yellow alert klaxons sound off twice. Kayto gave a node and said "All ahead, quarter-speed."

... Alarms blared... Klaxons wailed and the sensor crew yelled to the Captain "Sir, we've got five contacts, warping in! PACT signatures!"

"PACT missile boats..." Ava muttered, then turned to the Captain and reported calmly "They must be trying to warp in a strike force. Take us out while we're still in drydock..."

"Go to Red Alert!" Kayto ordered and the mood in the ship, from lighting to everything, turned blood-red... "Get the ship moving!"

In the inky blackness of space, meanwhile... The blood-red Missile Frigates of the PACT Navy, small, stunted ships that had four sets of multi-launch Hell-Dart systems, moved in a wedge formation. They resembled more 21st-century earth-based designs, with one large chemical fuel engine in the back, to which the Warp Ring that allowed them to jump was attached... The missiles pinged as they locked on... And the first salvo flew out of the tubes. Contrails of black smoke followed in the wake of a swarm of scarlet missiles...

The Sunny Palace was the target... As the missiles got closer and closer, Kayto gritted his teeth... He barked out "BRACE FOR IMPACT!" to the crew through the PA, before leaning into his seat. The hum of the core became louder and louder and the hull of the ship groaned as her engines powered, painfully slow. Seconds ticked away until Impact... And as if by God's intervention, the ship lurched out of the skeletal frame of the cradle just as the rockets struck the Station. Several explosions raked the surface of the support station and it began to vent atmosphere, its crew decimated... The cradle itself collapsed into a burning heap of steel girders. Secondary explosions ignited ammunition dumps and the fuel tanks and the station detonated.

The ship had escaped by the skin of her teeth. The crews aboard the Cradle couldn't say the same... Sheilds gripped his chair, then ordered "Bring us about! Full speed! Ava, status on our armaments!" and he gazed to his CO. The woman nodded, then said "We've got ammunition for the Magnetic Accelerators and a single salvo of Hell Darts! Lasers, Point-Defense and Plasma batteries are active."

Kayto grinned. "Let's give'em a taste of Ceran Firepower... Plasma tubes one and two, fire."

The Gunnery officers responded promptly, focusing energy into the coils that made up the magnetic containment field of the Plasma weapons. As the ship herself took a hard-left turn, the plasma guns in the wings flared... And ignited a bright blue hue. Two boulders of focused ionized gas began to travel through space toward two of the Frigates. The small ships were nimble, but even they couldn't believe their eyes. The fireballs closed distance with their targets and slammed into them. Armor plate melted and ammunition racks ignited. The ships detonated in a flare of red... The _Sunrider _barreled in in the wake of the Plasma shots, its Point-Defense swiveling to greet the attackers.

"MAC Guns and Plasma turrets in range." Ava reported.

"Fire MACs. Let's see how they perform..." Kayto ordered in response, a wry grin on his face... As the two turrets at the front, housing six MACs between one another traversed, one of the PACT ships banked to the right whilst another wanted to engage the Assault Carrier. The first salvo from Turret 01 thundered... The superheated, magnetically-enhanced projectiles screamed through the empty void of space, before striking and effectively gutting through one of the two frigates at three distinct points. One shot struck the reactor core, blasting the ship into space dust upon impact...

The second salvo, from Turret-02 saw two of the three shots miss. The third, however, sent the ship it was targeting spinning after impact. The ship was vivisected by the blast of the Magnetic weapon's impact, which weighed into the gigatons of force, shattering as the shock reverberated through its hull, destroying the one deck it had and detonating munitions.

The PACT retaliation was weak. Eight missiles flew from the last of the gunboats... The Helix guns intercepted five of them, while the others hit the armor in its most heaviest spots. The Plasma turrets at the front spun about. A full broadside of focused energy peppered the hull of the Frigate that fired. The ship was left a broken mess that now floated emptily through space, before it too detonated...

Ava let out a sigh of relief... A breath the woman didn't know she'd been holding. Minor hull damage, but no breaches... She looked to Cortana, who seemed focused on data streaming in from the sensors, before turning to the Captain and reporting "We've cleared the last PACT picket ship, sir. I advise we maintain Red Alert, however. That could have been only a scouting party..."

Kayto gave a nod, then smiled "Agreed. Helm, have us join up with the rest of the Fleet and aid them in the mop-up!"

As the _Sunrider _moved into position, a hail came through the Comm system... Kayto looked to Cortana, who nodded and winked off the holographic display. In her stead, Captain Lasky, now older with 4 years and with more grey hair on his head, appeared, smiling. "Nicely done out there, _Sunrider. _Seems she's behaving just as expected..." He congratulated them.

"Thank you, Captain... Yeah, she handles like a dream." Kayto smirked. "Will the _Infinity _be joining us?"

"Yes. We're currently diverting power to engines to get us out of Drydock in case of a second attack. Our shields are offline for now, but we've got weapons." Lasky admitted. "We're thinkin-"

He cut off as shrill, more loud alarms came to Kayto's ears... Cortana reappeared on the screen next to Lasky's form, then yelled, her voice full of worry "Sir! Massive contact, warping in off the ODP Cluster! The ODPs' generator station has stopped responding!" to which Lasky's eyes went wide... Cortana continued "The Ceran government believes it to be an act of sabotage! We don't know what happened!"

"Damn!" Kayto said... Before looking at the holographic screen...

... A 3km long, scarlet monstrosity winked into real-space, joined by at least three dozen more PACT support ships. Shock reverberated through the Navy and Captain Lasky's eyes went wide. Kayto saw the _Infinity _off to the right. The enemy warship they faced was one laced with armament. Four prongs extended from the warp ring of the ship, each with about a dozen Trinity lasers, Kinetic cannons and Point Defense systems, not to mention the core of the ship... A massive energy cannon was mounted on her nose...

"Ava, report! Nobody told us PACT had a ship of that size!" Shields demanded, standing up and looking at the holographic display with surprise...

"Captain! I've just gotten the reports now! That's the PACT Super-Dreadnought _Legion_!" Ava yelled aloud... Then gasped "POWER SURGE FROM THE _LEGION'S _MAIN ARMAMENT! BRACE!"

... _Infinity's _engines strained and nearly buckled as the Captain had ordered a full intercept. First, lasers from the enemy Dreadnought cut through the blackness. The waves of light struck Ceran Navy warships that the _Sunrider _had joined with... As the _Shadow of Intent _made way to join the fight too, the spinal energy weapon of the _Legion _powered... Aimed right for the rest of the fleet...

"Ava!" Kayto coughed "Status report... What's the damage!"

"Such disgusting firepower..." Ava trembled as the reports came in... "The CSF _Infallible _has been sunk with all hands! The CSF _Guardian, Paladin _and _Shield _have taken severe damage and are unable to fight or retreat! We're venting atmosphere and our port-side Trinity lasers have been severely damaged and are unusable... And the _Legion's _powering another shot and the _Infinity's _moving to intercept! THEY DON'T HAVE SHIELDS!"

... The main cannon of the warship let out a deafening, high-pitched thrum as the beam of high-frequency, high-power plasma lanced through space. The _Infinity _moved in front of the barrel and took the brunt of the shot... Centimeters of Titanium-A melted away within a flash of heat. The beam of energy gutted through the mid section of the ship and multiple sections were vaporized. One of the Hangars was severely damaged and one of the Tridents was caught by the beam just as the ships were launching to intercept... The _Infinity _had begun to drift, turning its weapons to engage the enemy warship...

"No..." Kayto said... And a second shot screamed out of the mouth of the beast. Cera City vaporized... The planetary capital was reduced to ash, fire and memories now gone forever...

As Lasky's form reappeared, a bit wounded, the man ordered "Captain! Cera City has just been nuked and we've lost the Admiralty! As acting commander of the joint defense fleet, I am ordering a full withdrawal! The _Infinity _and _Shadow of Intent _will provide cover while the _Sunrider _and whatever ships can, leave the system! Consider it a standing order! Lasky out!"

... Kayto looked at where the man once stood, then looked to the displays of the engagement... _ Shadow _had indeed joined. Its Seraph fighter complement opened fire with all weapons, its Lasers and Plasma thundered... But more PACT ships arrived... He looked to his planet and at the crater where Cera City once resided and felt his heart beat rise... A hand gripped his shoulder. He turned to see Ava, with tears in her eyes, call out "CAPTAIN! YOUR ORDERS!" with a cracking voice.

... "Slip us out!" He ordered, unsure.

"WHAT?!" Ava barked.

"You heard me! Cortana, get us a Slipspace jump solution to the Rally Point and get us the fuck out of here!" He ordered, then turned to Ava and took her hand "Ava... I swear to you and to everyone that died today, we _will _be back for Cera! We will come back! We'll make allies all over the galaxy if we have to and come back here to get our home back! But for now, you have to trust me!"

... Swallowing and unable to say anything, Ava nodded... She trusted him with her life...

And Cortana called out "We've got the solution! Strident-class Frigate UNSC _Midway _is requesting permission to join us!"

"Granted, now JUMP!" He barked...

... Ahead, space rippled and broke apart. A sparkling wormhole, made of blue lightning, erupted. And as the Captain took one last look at his burning homeworld and the Fleet fighting to defend their retreat, he swore to himself and to everyone who died and was dying to defend Cera... He would be back. With a Fleet... He would be back and he would retake Cera...

The two ships, one Ceran, one UNSC, now united in cause, flew through the Slipspace tear... And it winked out and shut behind them...


End file.
